almiratanner - are you locked into a lease yet? You can get more affordable places usually by the end of July/early August for the coming school year. And I walk a couple of km each way in the winter and its fine, likely because it's so dry. You also get a lrt pass with your tuition for when you can't bear the cold.

jordanpattern - drinks would be awesome! As for places you should check out (outside of padmanadi, which I think I could live on), you should try the Blue Plate Diner (their veggie burger is to die for - vegan without the mayo/cheese and the patty is made in-house), Famoso's pizza is also fantastic (they have great kalamata olives, and their primavera pizza is soooo good with either no cheese or daiya on it), La Poutine has vegan poutine which is pretty good, and Remedy Cafe is awesome for both dinner and dessert (mainly Indian-based entrees, and a full dessert display case of vegan options), the coffee and chai there is also great, Refresh is also quite good and has several raw options.

Hey Jordan! I'm going to be in PEI those exact dates, but Brenda says she'd love to get together with you and Mike (for possible meet-up). I'll send her email address along to you.

As for b'fast, not much has changed around here, except if you haven't been to padmanadi for brunch it is a def must. It's soooo good and I much prefer their brunch over their dinner menu. Other hotspots in the big city? Well, there has been lots of new restaurants/cafes/bistro type stuff opening, but not much for vegan options (like Corso32, MKRT). Actually, one of the owners of MRKT is the woman that owns SoulSoup and she usually has a veg'n soup so maybe they'd be vegan friendly. I haven't been. I still like the pizza at DaCapo and their truffle salad.....there's a great little take-out Lebanese (cafe beirut) place on whyte. all their veggie stuff is vegan.

Thanks for the suggestion Robynn. I'm just signing the lease now, but I think we are just gonna go for it. It's 1100 for a 2 bedroom + utilities, but it's not a basement and I think it's a pretty good location (109th and 75th). If you think this is a terrible idea let me know, but the landlord seems nice and only a few blocks to the LRT, so... yeah.

Awesome! I'm really not sure what we'll be up to, but probably mostly just hanging out and bumming around. We will be going to WEM, because Mike is convinced it is the most magical place in the world, and I need to prove him wrong.

_________________If you spit on my food I will blow your forking head off, you filthy shitdog. - MumblesDon't you know that vegan meat is the gateway drug to chicken addiction? Because GMO and trans-fats. - kaerlighed

almiratanner - I used to live pretty much in that exact area (109 st and university) but ended up moving to a quieter area (109 st is super busy and thus very nosiey - depends on how light of a sleeper you are). On the bright side, there is 1 route (51) that goes directly to the university from 109 street, and the number 9 covers a good portion of the city and goes along 109 street. The Safeway on whyte ave (82 ave) and 109 street is likely going to be the closest to you, but as I mentioned, the save on foods on 104 st and 78 ave is awesome!

Yay! We're getting in mid-day next Thursday (the 21st). Maybe people could PM/email me phone numbers and things? I'm not really sure what my schedule is going to be like, but I do know I'll probably be pretty busy and might really only be able to make plans on the fly. If I have numbers, I can text people if we're heading to a bar or to brunch or similar. Or maybe people want to get brunch one day at Padmanadi?

_________________If you spit on my food I will blow your forking head off, you filthy shitdog. - MumblesDon't you know that vegan meat is the gateway drug to chicken addiction? Because GMO and trans-fats. - kaerlighed

Does anyone use WIND as their phone company? I'm looking at phone plans and I essentially want free texting and some sort of long-distance thing so I can call Vancouver. WIND seems to have the best deals, but I'm worried the reception might be terrible or something. Advice?

Hey, Edmonton! Hope someone can help me with some info....this August, I stopped, while in Victoria, into Sarah Kramer's store, and was lucky enough to meet her aqnd get to have a chat with her.

While we were talking, it came up that I live around the Edmonton area, and she then asked me if I had heard about a "vegan Oktoberfest" event that was going to be happening there. I said I hadn't, and then it came up that the Vegetarians of Alberta had some hand in it, and I should look there for the info...I think she was on her iphone looking this upwhile we talked. Now, try as I might, I can not find mention of anything like this on either Google or the VOA website, so I am beginning to wonder what gives! And, unfortunately, I won't be chatting with the lovely Ms. Kramer anytime before October to re-communicate with her what exactly was mentioned. So, anyone know about this? Clue me in, please!! Thanks!

Hey 1strangegirlbygolly! You are right! VVOA is putting off a bunch of events for world vegetarian month (October) called Vegetober. There is going to be a meeting about interested volunteers on September 15 at 7ish-pm, but the location hasn't been announced yet. There are going to be various films shown throughout the month free-of-charge at different libraries, and there are going to be demonstrations and info sessions throughout the month for things such as raw diets, making the change to a vegetarian/vegan diet, raising veg kids, etc. I'm sure there are going to be more events as well, but that is all I can think of right now. The easiest way to learn of these events seems to be through facebook as that's how I get my invites to the events. PM here if you like and I can send you the fb links!

So guess what I found the other day??? Soyatoo vegan whipped cream (both the soy and rice varieties) in the spray-out type can!!!!! I am so excited! I don't think it's possible for it to be better than Healthy Top, but it looks pretty awesome :) Found it at the Safeway on the corner of Whyte Ave and 109 Street.

Hey everyone! Just a heads up that Vegtoberfest is kicking off this Saturday (October 1st) here in Edmonton at Earth's General Store! There are going to be events going on all month long (veg film screenings, demos, buffets, etc), and on the 1st beginning at noon there will be a vegan bbq, music, and a used book sale in the EGS parking lot. You can find all the info on the Vegans and Vegetarians of Alberta website - http://www.vofa.ca/Hope to see you all there!

Just went to Padmanadi for the first time today. The curried yam omelette is fantastic! My roommate had the tom yum scramble which he said was super tasty - also his first tofu scramble ever so I now have a lot to live up to. Great coffee, too. Is the dinner as great as the breakfast?

Oddly, I was there for brunch this morning as well. It was my first time having their brunch, and I thought it was fantastic! I had the banana coconut french toast, and my friend has the thai eggs bennidict. Both were great.I have had dinner there multiple times, and it is one of my favourite places. The Mongolian chicken and the ginger beef are some of the best, as are the hot and sour soup and the wonton soup. Their fried spring rolls are pretty forking good too. The only thing I have ever really tried there and didn't like was an eggplant dish, since the eggplant was over cooked which ruined it for me. You should definitely try dinner there!

I love Padmanadi's for brunch. It's my favourite meal there. I love their big salad with figs and they have good pancakes and tofu scrambles. I've tried a couple of their benedicts, too. My one big disappointment was their biscuits and gravy. The first time we went, I was sooo excited to get the biscuits and gravy (yay!) but it was tasteless gravy and english muffins! english muffins are not biscuits. Big fail.

I'm not crazy about their dinner food. I find it really greasy......too greasy, really. It tastes good at the time and then I feel kinda gross after. I do think it's the best vegan b'fast/brunch in town, though.

Tomorrow night we are going to Narayanni's (Indian, off Whyte ave) tomorrow night. All their vegetarian stuff is vegan. I've heard good things. Anyone been?

I love Padmanadi's for brunch. It's my favourite meal there. I love their big salad with figs and they have good pancakes and tofu scrambles. I've tried a couple of their benedicts, too. My one big disappointment was their biscuits and gravy. The first time we went, I was sooo excited to get the biscuits and gravy (yay!) but it was tasteless gravy and english muffins! english muffins are not biscuits. Big fail.

I'm not crazy about their dinner food. I find it really greasy......too greasy, really. It tastes good at the time and then I feel kinda gross after. I do think it's the best vegan b'fast/brunch in town, though.

Tomorrow night we are going to Narayanni's (Indian, off Whyte ave) tomorrow night. All their vegetarian stuff is vegan. I've heard good things. Anyone been?

I was actually there on a date last Tuesday! They had a vegan night, which was pretty cool. The food was really good. They had some awesome desserts too.

So the whole menu/buffet was vegan? Great! Did they have the squash curry dish? I've heard about this dish and I"m thinking of calling them tomorrow to see if they'll have it tomorrow night (and encourage them to make it if it isn't on the menu for tomorrow!).

Mmmmm I love Narayanni's! I think the first Tuesday of every month they are going to be strictly vegan. Otherwise, all of their obvious non-meat dishes are vegan (I think there are usually 4-5 meat dishes at the end of the buffet table, but that's it). Usually, at least one of the desserts is vegan as well. The one time I went and there was no vegan dessert (you usually have to ask to find out which one) they made me one, which I thought was really sweet :)

And that squash dish you are speaking of is to die for. One of my fav things they do - that, and the spiced cauliflower!

We went Saturday night and it was really good......but no squash! I was so disappointed. They had a little Thanksgiving section, too, with turkey, vegan mashed potatoes, vegan gravy, yams, brussels spouts and cranberry sauce.

They did say that the first Tuesday of the month they will have an all vegan buffet. Nice to have another option in the city.